George Washington: A Life in Books

Kevin J. Hayes

Draws on a wealth of research from Washington's personal library and archives

Provides valuable examinations of Washington's own writings

George Washington: A Life in Books

Kevin J. Hayes

Description

When it comes to the Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton are generally considered the great minds of early America. George Washington, instead, is toasted with accolades regarding his solid common sense and strength in battle. Indeed, John Adams once snobbishly dismissed him as "too illiterate, unlearned, unread for his station and reputation." Yet Adams, as well as the majority of the men who knew Washington in his life, were unaware of his singular devotion to self-improvement.

Based on a comprehensive amount of research at the Library of Congress, the collections at Mount Vernon, and rare book archives scattered across the country, Kevin J. Hayes corrects this misconception and reconstructs in vivid detail the active intellectual life that has gone largely unnoticed in conventional narratives of Washington. Despite being a lifelong reader, Washington felt an acute sense of embarrassment about his relative lack of formal education and cultural sophistication, and in this sparkling literary biography, Hayes illustrates just how tirelessly Washington worked to improve. Beginning with the primers, forgotten periodicals, conduct books, and classic eighteenth-century novels such as Tom Jones that shaped Washington's early life, Hayes studies Washington's letters and journals, charting the many ways the books of his upbringing affected decisions before and during the Revolutionary War. The final section of the book covers the voluminous reading that occurred during Washington's presidency and his retirement at Mount Vernon. Throughout, Hayes examines Washington's writing as well as his reading, from TheJournal of Major George Washington through his Farewell Address. The sheer breadth of titles under review here allow readers to glimpse Washington's views on foreign policy, economics, the law, art, slavery, marriage, and religion-and how those views shaped the young nation..

Ultimately, this sharply written biography offers a fresh perspective on America's Father, uncovering the ideas that shaped his intellectual journey and, subsequently, the development of America.

George Washington: A Life in Books

Kevin J. Hayes

Table of Contents

Preface 1. Meditations and Contemplations 2. Every Boy His Own Teacher 3. Exemplars 4. Travel Writing 5. The Journal of Major George Washington 6. A Memorial Containing a Summary View of Facts 7. Home and Garden 8. George Washington, Bibliographer 9. The Education of John Parke Custis10. Revolutionary Pamphlets11. Common Sense and Independence12. A Green Baize Bookcase13. Planning for Retirement14. Haven of History15. The Slave, the Quaker, and the Panopticon16. Politics and the Picaresque17. Presidential Patronage and the Development of American Literature18. Official Letters to the Honorable American Congress19. Farewell Address20. Home at LastSourcesIndex

George Washington: A Life in Books

Kevin J. Hayes

Author Information

Kevin J. Hayes, Emeritus Professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, now lives and writes in Toledo, Ohio. He is the author of several books including The Road to Monticello: The Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson (Oxford, 2008) and A Journey through American Literature (Oxford, 2012). He is the recipient of the Virginia Library History Award presented by the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Center for the Book. He is also the recipient of research fellowships from the Boston Athenaeum, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Lilly Library, the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, and the Virginia Historical Society.

George Washington: A Life in Books

Kevin J. Hayes

Reviews and Awards

"In this new work, Kevin J. Hayes shatters the myth of an ignorant, unread Washington and does something even more difficult: Hayes not only has tracked down new discoveries in one of the most studied American lives, but he reveals a much more human portrait of the great man than most biographies have been able to reveal. Hayes makes George Washington even more real, and more significant... Kevin J. Hayes's study will reward the reader with a newfound respect for our first president and imparts a renewed sense of the sustained curiosity of truly great leaders. It is a book even John Adams might have enjoyed." -- The Weekly Standard

"This is a highly enjoyable and informative book. For anyone interested in the primary documentation of the lives of the Founding Fathers or for anyone wishing to be an informed visitor to Mount Vernon, this is essential reading." -- Journal of the American Revolution

George Washington: A Life in Books

Kevin J. Hayes

From Our Blog

Unlike his contemporaries Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton'George Washington isn't remembered as an intellectual. But for what he lacked in formal education, Washington made up for in enthusiasm for learning. His personal education began at an early age and continued throughout his adult life. In the following excerpt from George Washington: A Life in Books, historian Kevin J. Hayes gives insight into Washington's early love of literature.

Throughout history, George Washington has been highly regarded for his common sense and military fortitude. When it comes to the Founding Fathers, his intellectual pursuits have been overshadowed by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton'who are conventionally considered the great minds of early America. Despite his relative lack of formal education, Washington remained an avid reader throughout his life.